§ 24-0105 — Statement of findings

§ 24-0105. Statement of findings.\n 1. The freshwater wetlands of the state of New York are invaluable\nresources for flood protection, wildlife habitat, open space, climate\nchange mitigation through the accumulation and storage of large amounts\nof carbon, and water resources.\n 2. Considerable acreage of freshwater wetlands in the state of New\nYork has been lost, despoiled or impaired by unregulated draining,\ndredging, filling, excavating, building, pollution or other activities\ninconsistent with the natural uses of such areas. Freshwater wetlands\nare in jeopardy of being lost, despoiled or impaired by such activities\nand because of the recent curtailment of federal wetland protections.\n 3. Recurrent flooding aggravated or caused by the loss of freshwater\nwetlands has serious effects upon natural ecosystems and communities.\nThe increasing severity and duration of storm-related flooding due to\nclimate change, which has caused billions of dollars of property damage\nacross the state, makes protection of all freshwater wetlands in the\nstate of vital importance.\n 4. Freshwater wetlands conservation is a matter of state concern since\na wetland in one region is affected by acts on rivers, streams and\nwetlands of other regions.\n 5. The natural systems affecting freshwater wetlands overlap many\nlocalities. While many local governments individually have enacted\nordinances to conserve freshwater wetlands and to reduce flood hazards\nand losses, effective freshwater wetlands management requires uniformity\nin laws to eliminate inconsistent or conflicting local laws. One\nlocality alone lacks adequate jurisdiction to protect itself from misuse\nor neglect of adjacent localities.\n 6. Freshwater wetlands are an integral part of the unique scenic,\naesthetic, wildlife, recreational, open space, ecological and natural\nresources of the Adirondack park and are recognized and protected by the\nAdirondack park agency act. The act provides a mechanism for the\nregulation of Adirondack wetlands by the Adirondack park agency and\nlocal governments which is consistent with both the state interest in\nthe preservation and development of the park area and the state policy\nto preserve, protect and conserve freshwater wetlands expressed in this\narticle.\n 7. Any loss of freshwater wetlands deprives the people of the state of\nsome or all of the many and multiple benefits to be derived from\nwetlands, to wit:\n (a) flood and storm control by the hydrologic absorption and storage\ncapacity of freshwater wetlands;\n (b) wildlife habitat by providing breeding, nesting and feeding\ngrounds and cover for many forms of wildlife, wildfowl and shorebirds,\nincluding migratory wildfowl and rare, endangered or threatened species,\nfish, reptiles and amphibians, insects and other invertebrates;\n (c) protection of subsurface water resources and provision for\nvaluable watersheds and recharging ground water supplies;\n (d) recreation by providing areas for hunting, fishing, boating,\nhiking, bird watching, photography, camping and other uses;\n (e) pollution treatment by serving as biological and chemical\noxidation basins and carbon sinks;\n (f) erosion control by serving as sedimentation areas and filtering\nbasins, absorbing silt and organic matter and protecting channels and\nharbors;\n (g) education and scientific research by providing readily accessible\noutdoor bio-physical laboratories, living classrooms and vast training\nand education resources;\n (h) open space and aesthetic appreciation by providing often the only\nremaining open areas along crowded river fronts and coastal Great Lakes\nregions;\n (i) sources of nutrients in freshwater food cycles and nursery grounds\nand sanctuaries for freshwater fish;\n (j) preservation of plant species that are rare, endangered or\nthreatened, or exploitably vulnerable as defined in section 9-1503 of\nthis chapter; and\n (k) preservation of communities of plants and animals that are deemed\nby the commissioner to be rare in the state or in a region of the state.\n 8. Regulation of freshwater wetlands, in accordance with the\nagricultural exemption established in title seven hereof, is consistent\nwith the legitimate interests of farmers and other landowners to graze\nand water livestock, make reasonable use of water resources, harvest\nnatural products of the wetlands, selectively cut timber and otherwise\nengage in the use of land for agricultural production.\n